Equipment carrier

ABSTRACT

An equipment carrier for transporting one or more work items includes a vertical frame attached to a base frame, where the base frame has, in a preferred embodiment, an expandable portion that telescopes out from the vertical frame. The equipment carrier also includes a locking mechanism for attaching the equipment carrier to a standard dolly. The use of the equipment carrier in combination with the dolly allows for easy transport of the equipment carrier. In one embodiment, work piece arms for supporting work items are pivotally connected to the front of the vertical frame allowing them to swing into horizontal position and then fold down into a vertical position. Also attached to the vertical frame is a strut that is also pivotally connected to the front face of the vertical frame. The strut swings up to support the work piece arm when it is in the horizontal position. The equipment carrier also has components for carrying additional accessories work items needed.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation in part of U.S. application Ser. No.12/157,626 Jun. 12, 2008 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,905,502, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to devices for transporting and storing workitems and related items.

2. Description of Related Art

It is often necessary or desirable to easily transport or store workitems. For example, workers often carry their tool boxes to a job site.Because tool boxes can be quite heavy, this at least strains the workerand at some point, the tool box or boxes may become too heavy to carry.As a result, many workers attach one or more tool boxes to wheeled cartsor dollies in order to facilitate this transport. However, such carts ordollies are not primarily intended to transport tool boxes and sorequire the tool boxes to be attached in an ad hoc manner (e.g., bybungee cords, straps or rope) or sometimes just left resting on the cartor dolly with no restraint. Transporting two or more tool boxescompounds this problem. In addition, it is usually difficult to use thetool boxes when they are attached to the cart because the attachmentmechanism often interferes with the functional use of the tool box.

A similar problem occurs with the transport of work items such ascompressed gas tanks such as those used to cut or weld, buckets,barrels, crates, tubs or boxes. These work items are typically attachedto a dolly to be transported. For example, where the work item is a setof compressed gas tanks, each such set requires a dolly. However, oncethe tanks are moved to a desired location, the wheeled aspect of thedolly is no longer needed until the tanks need to be moved again.Because the dolly is usually needed for only a small amount of timerequired to move the tanks but is still attached to the tanks, theexpensive dolly cannot be used to transport other tanks or work items.This is true for the transport of other work items as well.Consequently, this is an inefficient use of an expensive piece ofequipment (the dolly).

Further, work items such as described above are typically expensivearticles that require significant care during transportation andstorage. They may also be quite heavy or bulky or both. Some work itemsalso have accessory work items attached such as hoses, ropes or cablethat hang below or over the primary work item. The weight in combinationwith bulky size and sometimes hanging accessory work items makes thework items quite cumbersome or unsafe for a person to carry and oftenputs the expensive work items at risk Therefore it is desirable toprovide a device for safely and easily storing or transporting a primarywork item that also accommodates additional accessory work items.

Also, some times the work items are made of pliable materials that havea tendency to mold the shape of the support. If such work items areunsupported or improperly supported by being laid on a flat surface fora lengthy amount of time, these work items becomes deformed andunsuitable for use. Therefore it is important that these work items aretransported and stored properly to prevent damage to them.

In view of the foregoing, it is desirable to have a device fortransporting or storing work items, with any accompanying accessory workitems, that eliminates these stated problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is an equipment carrier that is connectable to astandard dolly to allow for easy transportation of work items. Theequipment carrier is essentially a frame and associated components thatare connectable to a dolly. The resulting combination allow for easytransportation of the work items, not only in a work place setting, butalso when transporting the work items around the work place or to otherwork places. When coupled, the equipment carrier and dolly act as oneunit that is capable of transporting one or more work items as well asvarious other work related items.

The equipment carrier is also useful as an independent tool or work itemstorage device. For this purpose, the equipment carrier may be separatedfrom the dolly to work as a stationary storage frame. In one embodimentof the equipment carrier, the frame has foldable work piece arms thatoperate to receive work items for transportation and storage whilemaintaining the integrity of the tools or work items. In anotherembodiment of the equipment carrier, the equipment carrier has anexpanding bottom frame to facilitate transportation of a garbage orstorage bucket or barrel, box or other large items or to increase thestability of the equipment carrier when carrying large work items orwork items that extend over the edges of the equipment carrier.

The present invention addresses the needs of transporting one or morework items on a conveniently separated storage rack. The inventivedevice is characterized in a series of embodiments by dual functionalityof both a frame that can easily be transported by a standard dolly aswell as having convenient folding features to reduce the size of theframe when it is not needed for operation. The frame/carrier combinationis particularly well adapted to transport large articles as well ashaving additional features for the storage of work items or accessorywork items.

There are many objects of the present invention in its variousembodiments that may be addressed individually or in combinations andpermutations. Each embodiment may address one or several of thefollowing objectives.

An object of this invention in one embodiment or variant of theinvention is to provide a device for safely transporting a primary workitem.

Another object of this invention in one embodiment or variant of theinvention is to provide a device for easily transporting a primary workitem.

Another object of this invention in one embodiment or variant of theinvention is to provide a device for safely storing a primary work item.

Another object of this invention in one embodiment or variant of theinvention is to provide a device for easily storing a primary work item.

Another object of this invention in one embodiment or variant of theinvention is to provide a device that also accommodates additionalaccessory work items.

Another object of this invention in one embodiment or variant of theinvention is to provide a device that is easily able to be reduced insize when not in use.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be clear inview of the following description to the invention including theassociated drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The invention will be described hereafter in detail with particularreference to the drawings. Throughout this description, like elements,in whatever embodiment described, refer to common elements whereverreferred to and referenced by the same reference number. Thecharacteristics, attributes, functions, interrelations ascribed to aparticular element in one location apply to that element when referredto by the same reference number in another location unless specificallystated otherwise. All Figures are drawn for ease of explanation of thebasic teachings of the present invention only; the extensions of theFigures with respect to number, position, relationship, and dimensionsof the parts to form the preferred embodiment will be explained or willbe within the skill of the art after the following description has beenread and understood. Further, the exact dimensions and dimensionalproportions to conform to specific force, weight, strength and similarrequirements will likewise be within the skill of the art after thefollowing description has been read and understood.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an equipment carrier attached to adolly.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the equipment carrier separate from thedolly.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a locking mechanism of the equipmentcarrier and dolly.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the locking mechanism of FIG. 3 in an openposition.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the equipment carrier.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the equipmentcarrier.

FIG. 7 is a side view of another embodiment of the equipment carrier.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the equipmentcarrier.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a basket assembly.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the equipmentcarrier.

FIG. 11 is a right side view of FIG. 10.

DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An equipment carrier of the invention is shown in FIG. 1 and isgenerally referred to as 10. Equipment carrier 10 is shown incombination with the dolly 12. A feature of the invention is theattachment of a dolly 12 to the equipment carrier 10 for transportationof the equipment carrier 10 as shown in FIGS. 1, 5, 6 and 8. The dolly12 is a standard dolly as is well understood in the art and typicallyhas a frame 14 having a lower end 16 and an upper end 18, a base plate20 attached to the lower end 16 of the frame 14 and having a lip 22 onan edge of the base plate 20 near the lower end 16, wheels 24 attachedto the frame 14 near the lower end 16 of the frame 14, central supportmembers 26 that horizontally span the frame 14 and a handle 28, usuallyattached near the upper end 18 of the frame 14. In FIG. 2, the dolly 12is shown separated from equipment carrier 10.

An important function of the equipment carrier 10 in several embodimentsis to safely and easily store, transport or both a primary work item andalso, in one or more embodiments, to accommodate additional accessorywork items. Equipment carrier 10 of equipment carrier 10 includes aframe 30. The function of the frame 30 is to interact with one or morework items to securely position the work items during transport andstorage, be removably attachable to and detachable from a dolly 12 andto be self-standing when not attached to a dolly 12.

In a preferred embodiment of the equipment carrier 10, the frame 30 hasan inverted U member 32 and a base frame 34 attached to the lower end ofthe inverted U member 32. In one embodiment of the equipment carrier 10,the inverted U member 32 is formed by a pair of vertical frame pieces 36connected by cross pieces 38 that horizontally span the space betweenthe vertical frame pieces 36. As a result, the inverted U member 32includes the two vertical frame pieces 36 and one or more cross pieces38 connecting the two vertical frame pieces 36. In an embodiment of theequipment carrier 10, shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 7, the equipment carrier10 includes work piece arms 40. In a preferred embodiment of theequipment carrier 10, the work piece arms 40 can be made to extend awayfrom the vertical frame pieces 36 to a substantially horizontal positionor can be folded down in a substantially vertical position parallel tothe vertical frame pieces 36. In another embodiment of the equipmentcarrier 10, the work piece arms 40 extend permanently from the verticalframe pieces 36 in a substantially horizontal configuration.

As described above, the equipment carrier 10 is attachable to the dolly12 through an attachment mechanism. In a preferred embodiment of theinvention, the attachment mechanism is fingers 42 on base frame 34 andlocking mechanism 44 at the upper end of the inverted U member 32.Fingers 42 extend toward the dolly 12 and downward when the dolly 12 ismoved into contact with the frame 30. Equipment carrier 10 slides ontothe dolly 12 and the downward directed part of the fingers 42 grasps thebase plate 20 of the dolly 12. Locking mechanism 44 attaches to theupper end 18 of the dolly 12 securing equipment carrier 10 to the dolly12.

A preferred embodiment of the locking mechanism 44 is shown in moredetail in FIGS. 3 and 4. Locking mechanism 44 includes handle 46, spring48, a U-shaped pin 50, collar 52 (on the upper end 18 of the dolly 12),fingers 54, pin 56 and collar 58 (on the inverted U member 32). Handle46 has an elongated axis “A” and is rotatable about this elongated axisand movable along this elongated axis (FIG. 4). Handle 46 is attached toand operates pin 50 that is engageable with collar 52 by passing throughcollar 52 when the handle 46 is in a first configuration with thefingers 54 in contact with the dolly 12. Handle 46 also operates pin 56that is also attached to the handle 46 and that is engageable withcollar 58 by passing through collar 58 when handle 46 is a secondconfiguration with the fingers 54 out of contact with the dolly 12.

In a preferred embodiment, the action of the locking mechanism 44 islaterally biased by spring 48, that is, the spring 48 biases the handle46 away from the center of the frame 30. As stated above, handle 46 isoperable for both lateral and rotational movement about its axis “A.”Locking mechanism 44 is shown in FIG. 3 in position securing equipmentcarrier 10 to the dolly 12. Two fingers 54 hook the upper portion of thedolly 12. Pin 50 is engaged through collar 52 and retained in thisengagement by the action of the spring 48 on the handle 46.

To release locking mechanism 44, handle 46 is laterally moved inward(i.e., towards the midline of the frame 30) against the bias of thespring 48 thereby releasing pin 50 from collar 52. Then handle 46 isrotated upward around the axis “A” lifting fingers 54 away from thedolly 12 as shown in FIG. 4. To secure the locking mechanism 44 in anopen position (i.e., a position not engaging the upper end 18 of thedolly 12), pin 56 is rotated by rotation of handle 46 until pin 56 isaligned with the collar 58 (attached to equipment carrier 10) and thenthe pin 56 is inserted into collar 58 (FIG. 4).

Folding work piece arms 40 are shown in more detail in FIG. 7. In apreferred embodiment, each work piece arm 40 includes U-shaped arm 60and center cross bar 62. Arm 60 is connected to shaft 64 that isrotatably connected to a vertical frame piece 36 at sleeves 66 to form abearing by the interaction between shaft 64 and sleeves 66. Cross bar 62is attached preferably across U-shaped arm 60 to add rigidity to thearms 40. Each work piece arm 40 is held in a horizontal position by astrut 68 that extends from a vertical frame piece 36 to the arm 60 andis rotatably connected to the vertical frame pieces 36 by a sleeve 70.Clip 72 at the distal end of strut 68 connects strut 68 to cross bar 62.

In FIGS. 1, 2 and 7, work piece arms 40 are shown in the horizontalposition for carrying work items. The work piece arms 40 may support arack 74 with a upwardly extending peripheral edge 76 or may include anupward curved portion at is distal end to prevent work items placedacross the work piece arms 40 or on the rack 74 from sliding off duringtransportation. Work piece arms 40 fold from a horizontal position to avertical position when they are not in use. To fold arms 40 downward,strut 68 is moved upward, so that clip 72 disengages cross bar 62. Thisallows U-shaped arm 60 to rotate downward into a vertical positionparallel to the vertical frame pieces 36. Then strut 68 also rotatesdownward into a vertical position parallel to the vertical frame pieces36.

The work piece arms 40 may be secured in the vertical position by aretention chain 78 and clip 80 attached to the vertical frame pieces 36as shown in FIG. 7

Another feature of equipment carrier 10 in one embodiment is to havebase frame 34 be telescoping. The function of the telescoping base frame34 is to extend the base frame 34 away from the inverted U member 32 tohelp prevent the equipment carrier 10 from tipping over when placinglarge work items or work items that extend beyond the “footplate” of thebase frame 34 on the equipment carrier 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the baseframe 34 includes a proximal portion 82, distal portion 84, stop 86,lynch pin 88, holes 90 and collar 92. Proximal portion 82 is attached tovertical frame pieces 36 and has fingers 42 for attachment to anupstanding lip 22 of base plate 20 of dolly 12, as shown in FIG. 1. Thedistal portion 84 nests inside of proximal portion 82 and telescopesoutward to a fully extended position as shown in FIG. 7. When distalportion 84 is fully extended, stop 86 hits collar 92 to prevent distalportion 84 from disengaging proximal portion 82. Distal portion 84 issecured in the extended position by lynch pin 88 being inserted, throughhole 90 in both the distal portion 84 and the proximal portion 82.

To retract the distal portion 84 into the proximal portion 82, lynch pin88 is removed from hole 90, allowing movement of the distal portiontowards the proximal portion 82. When distal portion 84 is fullyinserted hole 92 in the distal portion aligns with hole 90 in theproximal portion allowing the securing of the distal portion in theretracted or nested position by the insertion of the lynch pin 88 into arespective hole 90.

As mentioned above, the equipment carrier 10 is intended to carry manydifferent work items. FIG. 5 shows and embodiment of the equipmentcarrier 10 carrying several tool boxes. In this embodiment of theequipment carrier 10, a tool box 94 may be placed on the base frame 34.Further, the equipment carrier 10 may include a pair of side frames 96attached to the vertical frame pieces 36. Support members 98 extendbetween the side frames 96 to support one or more tool boxes 94.

As mentioned above, several tool boxes 94 may be placed on the equipmentcarrier 10. If a tool box 94 is located immediately below another toolbox 94, it may be difficult to open a top lid 100 of the bottom tool box94 because of its close proximity to the tool box 94 above. Therefore,in one embodiment of the equipment carrier 10, the side frames 96 areconfigured to displace the support members 98, and consequently a toolbox 94 resting on such support members 98, forward of a tool box 94situated above (FIG. 5) to allow a top lid 100 of the bottom tool box 94to open without interfering contact with the tool box 94 above.

In a variant of this embodiment, rails may be placed on the supportmembers 98 that support the tool box 94 that is desired to bedisplaceable to a forward position in order to open its top lid 100. Therails, such as those used on heavy-duty drawers, allow this tool box 94to be moved to a configuration close to the vertical frame pieces 36during transportation or storage of the tool boxes and them moved alongthe rails to a forward configuration away from the vertical frame pieces36 when it is desired to use the tool box 94, particularly to open thetop lid 100 of this tool box 94. In these ways, several tool boxes 94may be compactly vertically stacked and still be functional. In thisembodiment of the equipment carrier 10, it may be desirable to have atelescoping base frame 34 and extend the base frame 34 to add stabilityto the equipment carrier 10.

Although support members 98 have been described above that extendbetween the side frames 96 to support one or more tool boxes 94, it isintended that the support members 98 may support any work itemincluding, but not limited to, those specific work items describedherein.

In another embodiment of the equipment carrier 10 shown in FIG. 6,compressed gas tanks 102 such as those used for cutting or welding maybe placed on the equipment carrier 10 as shown in FIG. 6. In thisembodiment, a pair of side frames 96 are attached to the vertical framepieces 36. However, in this embodiment the function of the side frames96 is to retain the compressed gas tanks 102 on the base frame 34.Consequently, in this embodiment there is no need for support members 98that extend between the side frames 96. Also, because compressed gastanks 102 usually have accompanying hoses 104, torches 106, strikers108, fire extinguishers 110 and other tools and accessories, the sideframes 96 in this embodiment extend up only a portion of the height ofthe vertical frame pieces 36. A hook 112 is preferably attached to thevertical frame near the top of the vertical frame to support the hoses.Because the side frames 96 extend up only for a portion of the sides ofthe vertical frame pieces 36, the hose 104 supported on the hook 112 isable to hang down from the hook 112 unencumbered by contact with theside frame 96. In this embodiment of the equipment carrier 10 as well,it may be desirable to have a telescoping base frame 34 and extend thebase frame 34 to add stability to the equipment carrier 10.

In another embodiment of the equipment carrier 10 shown in FIG. 8, abucket 114 is supported on the base frame 34 and carried by theequipment carrier 10. In this embodiment, it may also be desirable butis not required to have a pair of side frames 96 attached to thevertical frame pieces 36 to retain the bucket 114 on the base frame 34.Although a bucket 114 has been described as being transported by theequipment carrier 10, any other work item large or small may betransported, including but not limited to, a barrel, crate, tub or box.Again, in this embodiment of the equipment carrier 10 it may bedesirable to have a telescoping base frame 34 and extend the base frame34 to add stability to the equipment carrier 10.

Another feature of equipment carrier 10 in one or more embodiments isattached collars 116 and 118 (FIGS. 1 and 2) for preferably holding anelongated tool or implement such as a rake, broom or similar elongatedtool, implement or device. A lower collar 116 and upper collar 118 arevertically aligned on a side face of vertical frame pieces 36. Uppercollar 118 is hollow or ring-like allowing the handle of a rake, broomor similar device to pass through down to lower collar 116, which has abottom to hold the end of a handle.

Another feature of equipment carrier 10 is bucket clip 120 attached to across piece 38 as shown in FIG. 8. Bucket clip 120 is comprised of leverarm 122 and spring-biased hinge 124. The spring-biased hinge 124 allowsthe lever arm 122 to rotate from a substantially vertical position to asubstantially horizontal position in order to position a large bucket114 on base frame 34. The spring-bias of hinge 124 forces lever arm 122to return to its vertical position, thereby clamping the bucket 114 tothe base frame 34 as seen in FIG. 8.

Additional features of the equipment carrier 10 include one or moreauxiliary work item holders 128. These auxiliary work item holders 128could take the form of a cup holder 130, flashlight clip 132 or basketassembly 134 as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 7. In one embodiment, anauxiliary work item holder 128 is comprised of a support bar 136, hooks138 and a pin 140. Hooks 138 (preferably two) are attached to thesupport bar 136 for supporting items such as power cords, rope, cable orthe like. Pin 140 attaches the support bar 136 to the side of a verticalframe piece 36. Cup holder 130 is attached to a cross piece 38 and istypically an open cylinder for holding a cup or can. Flashlight clip 132attaches a flashlight to a vertical frame piece 36.

Basket assembly 134 is supported by the dolly 12 and does not requireequipment carrier 10 to be mounted on the dolly 12. Basket assembly 134includes a basket 142 held by a bracket 144. Bracket 144 is formed withtwo upper hooks 148 and two lower hooks 150. Bracket 144 rests againstthe frame 14 of the dolly 12 while hooks 148 attach to a central supportmember 26 of the dolly 12.

Basket assembly 134 is seen separated from the dolly 12 in FIGS. 9.Bracket 144 is preferably curved to stabilize the bracket 144 and toreduce lateral movement of the basket assembly 134. Bracket 144 ispreferably bent towards the dolly 12 to allow bracket 144 to carry thebasket 142 in an upright position. As mentioned above, bracket 144 alsopreferably has two lower hooks 150. Lower hooks 150 support the lowerend 146 of basket 142. The basket 142 is preferably a wire frame or meshbasket. Possible alternative embodiments include a solid frame basketwith openings to accommodate the lower hooks 150. In the preferredembodiment, a handle 152 is mounted to the basket 142 through a pivot154 on basket 142. One end of the handle 152 forms a finger 156 thatextends away from the basket 142 in a curved fashion.

Bracket 144 also includes a loop 158 and a bridge 160. The bridge 160 isattached between the upper hooks 148 and supports loop 158. The loop 158captures the finger 156 as the handle 152 is rotated into contact withthe basket 142 thereby securing the upper portion 160 of the basket 142to the bracket 144. In the preferred embodiment, finger 156 is parallelto handle 152 so that as the handle 152 is rotated around the pivot 154,the finger moves into secure engagement with the loop 158.

To secure the basket 142 to the bracket 144, lower end 146 is engaged inlower hooks 150. Then handle 152 is positioned vertical relative tobasket 142, allowing finger 156 to be inserted through loop 158. Whilethe finger 156 is maintained through the loop 158, the handle 152 isrotated to a horizontal position (into contact with the basket 142),likewise rotating finger 156 to a horizontal position trapping finger156 on the opposite side of loop 158 from the basket 142. This securesupper portion 160 of basket 142 to bracket 144 as seen in FIG. 1.

Basket 142 is released by rotating handle 152 from a horizontal positionto a vertical position, thereby allowing finger 156 to pass through loop158, which releases upper portion 160 of basket 142. Then basket 142 maybe lifted from lower hooks 150, thereby separating basket 142 frombracket 144.

In an alternate embodiment of the equipment carrier 10, a basket 142 maybe suspended from the support members 98, for example under a tool box94 that is displaced or displaceable from the vertical frame pieces 36.Further, aspects of the equipment carrier 10 that have been describedabove may be combined. For example, in the embodiment of the equipmentcarrier 10 carrying a bucket 114, side frames 96 may be attached to thevertical frame pieces 36 above the bucket 114 and have support members98 above the bucket 114 to support one or more tool boxes 94 or racks74.

As mentioned above, it is desirable for the equipment carrier 10 totransport or store accessory work items as well as primary work itemssuch as racks 74, tool boxes 94, compressed gas tanks 102 or bucket 114.Such accessory work items may be transported by one or more auxiliarywork item holders 128. In addition to the forms of auxiliary work itemholders 128 previously mentioned, the auxiliary work item holders 128could include, but are not limited to, tools 164, power strips 166,magnetic strips 168, flashlight 170 or fire extinguishers 110 (FIGS. 5).Typically, these accessory work items are attached to the vertical framepieces 36 but may also be attached to other aspects of the frame 30including the side frames 96.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the equipmentcarrier. In this view equipment carrier 10 is also shown connected tothe dolly 12. The equipment carrier 10 includes a pair of vertical framepieces 36 extending out of the rear of the base frame 34. Each of thevertical frame pieces 36 is located on opposite lateral sides of thecarrier 10. The pieces 36 are connected by inverted U member 32 at thetop of the carrier 10. Connected to each of the frame pieces 36 is atoside frame 96. Vertical frame handles 190 may be attached to verticalframe piece 36 and serve as a means for moving equipment carrier 10 whenneeded.

The side frames 96 preferably have bends therein to provide a pluralityof horizontal sections at different levels relative to the base 34. Forinstance, the side frames 96 may have a first horizontal section thatprovides a first level at the base 34, an intermediate horizontalsection at a second level a distance above the base 34, and a thirdhorizontal section at a third level a distance above the second level.These multiple horizontal levels may be achieved with “S” shaped sideframes, as shown. The “S” shaped frames 96 generally have two verticalsections opposite each other and at different levels. That is, the sideframe 96 has a first vertical section between the first horizontal leveland the second horizontal level, and a second vertical section betweenthe second horizontal level and the third horizontal level. The “S”shaped side frames 96 may be attached to the vertical pieces in one oftwo ways. In one embodiment, the side frames 96 are attached to thevertical pieces 36 so as to provide an unobstructed vertical openingbetween the first and second horizontal levels, as shown. In thisinstance, the first vertical sections of the side frames 96 are locatedon or closer to the vertical member 36 and the second vertical sectionsof the side frames are located outward or away from the vertical member36.

Other configurations of tool boxes 94 are shown. In this embodiment theupper most tool box 94 has a top lid 100 that opens to reveal a worksurface with tools vertically positioned in racks for ease of use. Atool box frame 172 may be secured to the third horizontal sections ofthe side frames 96. This tool box 94 is set into a tool box frame 172 byuse of the tool box handles 176 and secured in place by latches 174.

one or more midsection tool boxes 94, 182, in the above mentionedembodiment, may be slidably coupled to carrier or more specifically theside frames 96, which tool boxes may or may not have top lids 100 andhandles 176. Support members 98 may be used to secure one or more of thetool boxes to support frames 96 and to tie support frames 96 one toanother. Drawer glides 180 may be used in pairs to allow for thearticulation of tool boxes 94, 182 as shown in this view. That is, oneor more of the tool boxes 94, 182 may slide inward and outward and/orlaterally from left to right relative to the equipment carrier 10.

A base frame 34 also connects side frames 96 one to another and servesas a base for a lower most base tool box 178, which may simply be astationary tray as shown.

FIG. 11 is a right side view of FIG. 10. In this view midsection toolboxes 94, 182 are shown in their closed position. This view most clearlyshows tube 184 fastened to side frame 96. Adjustable support leg 188travels vertically in tube 184 and is tightened or loosened in place byknob 186. Adjustable support leg 188 is raised for transportation andlowered to the floor when the equipment carrier 10 is at rest. At rest,this means further stabilizes equipment carrier 10.

In use, the equipment carrier 10 slides onto the dolly 12 and fingers 42grasp the base plate 20 of the dolly 12 as explained above. The lockingmechanism 44 attaches and secures the upper end of the equipment carrier10 to the dolly 12. The equipment carrier 10 may then be moved to adesired location by grasping the handle 28 and tilting the dolly 12back. Because the equipment carrier 10 is securely attached to the dolly12, the equipment carrier 10 will also be tilted back. The user thenmoves the dolly 12, and consequently the equipment carrier 10, to adesired location on the wheels 24 of the dolly 12. At the desiredlocation, the user tips the dolly 12 forward so that the base frame 34comes into contact with the ground or floor.

At this point if desired, the equipment carrier 10 may be retained insecure contact with the dolly 12. Alternately, the equipment carrier 10may be separated from the dolly 12 as described above so that theequipment carrier 10 remains separate from the dolly 12. The dolly 12may then be used for other purposes including moving other equipmentcarriers 10. The equipment carrier 10 may then be used as an independenttool or work item storage device. Later, if it is desirable to move theequipment carrier 10, the user simply reconnects the dolly 12 to theequipment carrier 10 as described above.

The invention also include a method for transporting and storing workitems and related items in conjunction with a dolly. The methodcomprises the steps of:

providing a self-standing frame 30 for positioning one or more workitems for transport or storage;

positioning one or more work items on the frame 30;

attaching the frame 30 to the dolly 12;

transporting the frame 30 using the dolly 12; and

detaching the frame 30 from the dolly 12.

The method does not require the work item to be loaded on the frame 30before attaching the frame 30 to a dolly 12. The frame 30 may beattached to a dolly 12 and then have the work item loaded on the frame30.

Throughout this description, components have sometimes been described asoccurring in pairs or singly or described in the plural or singular. Forexample, the word “fingers” as used in connection with “fingers 54” isthe plural form of “finger.” Wherever occurrences of elements aredescribed in the singular or plural, it is to be understood that unlessstated otherwise, such elements may also be used in the opposite form aswill be clear to those skilled in the art. In other words, if an elementis described in the plural form, that element may also be used in thesingular or vice versa unless specifically stated otherwise.

Although the present invention has been described with reference topreferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize thatchanges may be made in form and detail without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention. Several different work items have also beendescribed. However, these work items are intended to illustrate classesor categories of work items. Consequently, other work items, more orless similar to those described, can be accommodated by the equipmentcarrier 10.

As mentioned, the equipment carrier 10 of the present invention has beendescribed in connection with certain embodiments, configurations andrelative dimensions. However, the description above is not to beconstrued as being absolutely particular. It is to be understood thatthe description given herein has been given for the purpose ofexplaining and illustrating the equipment carrier 10 and is not intendedto limit the scope of the invention. For example, the specificdimensions and configuration of the components of the equipment carrier10 may be varied so long as the dimensions and configurations of theequipment carrier 10 provide the function of transporting and storingwork items and related items. Further, specific details of the frame 14and its components may be varied as will occur to those skilled in theart so long as a sturdy and function frame 14, as described herein, isprovided. Also, there are many materials and configurations that can beused in constructing the equipment carrier 10 that will be wellunderstood by those skilled in the art including those being developedor that will be developed. In addition, it is clear than an almostinfinite number of minor variations to the form and function of thedisclosed equipment carrier 10 could be made and also still be withinthe scope of the invention. Consequently, it is not intended that theequipment carrier 10 be limited to the specific embodiments and variantsof the invention disclosed. It is to be further understood that changesand modifications to the descriptions given herein will occur to thoseskilled in the art. Therefore, the scope of the invention should belimited only by the scope of the claims.

1. An equipment carrier interacting with a dolly, the equipment carriercomprising: a self-standing frame for positioning one or more work itemsfor transport or storage, the frame having a lower end and an upper end,the self standing frame comprising: a rectangular base frame having afront and a back opposite the front; a pair of vertical frame pieceseach extending vertically from opposing sides of the back of the baseframe; a pair side frames each having bends therein that provide aplurality of horizontal sections and a vertical section between a pairof horizontal sections, the plurality of horizontal sections comprisinga first, second, and third horizontal section, the first horizontalsection located at a first horizontal level at the base frame, thesecond horizontal section located at a second horizontal level adistance above the base frame, and the third horizontal section locatedat a third horizontal level a distance above the second horizontallevel; at least one support member extending laterally between the pairof side frames; and an attachment mechanism for attaching the frame toand detaching the frame from the dolly.
 2. The carrier of claim 1,wherein each of the side frames is formed into an S shape.
 3. Thecarrier of claim 2, wherein each of the side frames has a plurality ofvertical members comprising a first vertical member between the firstand second horizontal sections and a second vertical member between thesecond and third horizontal sections.
 4. The carrier of claim 3, whereinthe pair of side frames are attached to the vertical pieces so as toprovide an unobstructed vertical opening between at least one of thefirst and second horizontal sections, and the second and thirdhorizontal sections.
 5. The carrier of claim 3, wherein the pair of sideframes are attached to the vertical pieces so as to provide anunobstructed vertical opening between the first and second horizontalsections.
 6. The carrier of claim 3, the frame comprising a tool boxframe secured to the third horizontal sections of the side frames, thetool box frame comprising a latching mechanism for removably coupling atoolbox to the frame.
 7. The carrier of claim 3, comprising a pluralityof midsection tool boxes slidable coupled to the side frames.
 8. Thecarrier of claim 7, a first of the plurality of midsection tool boxescoupled to the side frames at the second horizontal sections of the sideframes, the first tool box capable of be sliding inward and outwardrelative to the carrier.
 9. The carrier of claim 8, a second of theplurality of midsection tool boxes coupled to the side frames, thesecond tool box capable of sliding laterally from left to right relativeto the carrier.
 10. The carrier of claim 1 wherein the work item ischosen from the group consisting of a tool box, a compressed gas tank, abucket, a barrel, a crate, a tub or a box.
 11. The carrier of claim 1further comprising at least one auxiliary work item holder chosen fromthe group consisting of a cup holder, flashlight clip, power strip,magnetic strips, flashlight, fire extinguishers and basket assembly.